*Titled as such even though I prefer tea because saying “if we were having tea” sounds so high brow for a Midwestern American.

Gosh. I’ve not done this since 2021. Hello! It’s been a while. I’m taking a breather in this final week at work before the holidays to type up a very quick update for anyone who may be curious. (No gifs this time, sorry!)

If we were having coffee…I’d tell you all about the international trips I’ve taken with my husband, friends, and for work! My husband and I were finally able to go on our honeymoon to Switzerland in 2022 (stunning, absolutely stunning, we want to go back soon!). I traveled to Germany for the Frankfurt Book Fair with my colleagues in 2022. My husband and I visited Amsterdam, Ghent, Bruges, and Paris in 2023. And this year I went to Portugal with my girlfriends from book club! My husband and I are in the midst of planning a Scotland/England trip in 2025, and the agency registered to attend Frankfurt again next year as well––looking forward to even more travel to come!

If we were having coffee…I would briefly touch upon the burnout breakdown I experienced in summer 2023. It felt like hitting a wall over and over, and all the tools in my mental health toolbox I learned from my undergrad studies proved to hit a breaking point too. I needed help and new tools, new ways of thinking, in order to forge a path forward––so I found a therapist. What a change! What a relief it brought me, too! I figured out new ways of organizing my inbox, learned to control what I can and give grace/let get of the things I cannot control, lived the mantra “not my circus, not my monkeys,” learned to step away/touch grass when recognizing if something was triggering a negative emotion, readjusted the time management, reprioritized different elements at work, and––biggest of all, with the greatest impact on my life as a whole outside of work––took on gratitude journaling. Big big fan of gratitude journaling! It’s been over 500 days of writing down three things I’m grateful for at the end of the day. There are a lot of repeats, and some of them feel really silly or dull (like toiletpaper or HVAC), but they are gratitudes nonetheless. It brings me peace and calm before bed each night, to reflect on my day and focus on the positives. WHAT A GAME CHANGER.

If we were having coffee…I’d share the whirlwind ups and downs––and ultimately the awe and gratitude––of celebrating ten years as an agent in September this year. Upon reflection, it amazes me how much I’ve accomplished on micro and macro levels, everything I’ve learned, how much I’ve grown, how I’ve shaped and reshaped and developed my position, and all the wonderful, talented, incredible people I’ve met on this journey. It was a risk becoming an agent, and I’m so glad I’ve taken all the leaps and opportunities presented to me. If you are fairly new in the business and reading this, stick around. Those first few years are so so hard, but stick with it. It’ll all be worth it someday soon!

If we were having coffee…I’d gush about how much I love my new position at the agency as foreign rights manager (as well as continuing to be an agent). When the role transitioned to me earlier this year, I was nervous but so excited to have a hand in helping clients’ work move into translation around the globe. The scouts, coagents, and publishers I’ve met along the way have been so kind, thoughtful, patient, and generous, and I’m loving putting my organizational administrative skills to good use in another aspect of this industry!

If we were having coffee…I’d talk about the champagne problems of the additional load at work and how it has impacted my reading. For work it means I have to be even more particular in what I’ll pursue to represent. (It also means giving myself grace for how long I’m taking to get back to folks whose manuscripts I’ve requested.) And in my for-fun reading personal life, it means more and more to live and breathe reading for pleasure and reading for quality. For years I’ve said my goals are to read quality over quantity, but there’s still this little voice in the back of my head that says, “You only read x-amount this year? Woof.” So yes, there’s been a lot of DNFing, of several weeks going by where I haven’t listened to a single minute or read a single page of a book for fun. But when I do manage to get hooked in, whew. What a ride. So fun!

If we were having coffee…I’d suggest several shows that have taken up brain space this year, namely Ted Lasso, Shrinking, Bad Sisters, Trying, The New Look (Apple); Abbott Elementary; Somebody Somewhere, We’re Here (Max); Outlander; Call the Midwife; Great British Bake Off (Netflix). Saw Dune Part II in theaters, and had to stop myself from singing along to Wicked! And of course, I’m still singing in choir and (now!) playing in a handbell ensemble! I also participate in two book clubs, when I’m able, which is such a joy.

Okay, back to work. More deal announcement posts to come!